Celebrations Mark 90 Years of Bauhaus
Bauhaus might be turning 90, but for enthusiasts of the German design movement, the art, furniture and architecture it inspired still looks fresh and young. The school was founded in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius, who wanted to create something bold and forward-thinking in the wake of World War I, which he described as a "catastrophe of world history."
Gropius was 35 when he applied to the city of Weimar to establish an academy there. By the time he received his permit, he'd penned a manifesto which would prove to be the beginning of an aesthetic upheaval that would reach far beyond Germany's borders.
In a pamphlet he wrote for an April 1919 exhibition entitled "Exhibition of Unknown Architects," Gropius described his goal as being "to create a new guild of craftsmen, without the class distinctions which raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist."
He argued that a new era had begun with the end of the war, and he wanted a new architectural style to reflect this. Crucially, he advocated architecture and consumer goods that were functional, inexpensive and consistent with the industrialization and mass production that was changing the face of Europe.
The school existed in three German cities: Weimar (1919 -1925), Dessau (1925 - 1932) and Berlin (1932 - 1933). In 1933, it was closed by the Nazi regime. During its years of operation, the school attracted avant garde artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Lyonel Feininger. Along with Gropius, Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe acted as architect-directors.
Bauhaus spirit lives on
But although the original Bauhaus school had a relatively short lifespan, the Bauhaus principles and aesthetic have lived on and served as the inspiration for more schools of design, particularly in the United States, where many of those associated with the Bauhaus movement settled in the 1930s.
Today, the Bauhaus school is called the Bauhaus University of Weimar. Although Weimar is commonly seen as the cradle of great German literary figures such as Goethe and Schiller, the popularity of Bauhaus has also contributed to the city becoming a popular tourist destination in recent years.
Many designers are taking the 90th anniversary as an occasion to bring remakes of Bauhaus classics to the market...
Read entire article at Deutsche Welle
Gropius was 35 when he applied to the city of Weimar to establish an academy there. By the time he received his permit, he'd penned a manifesto which would prove to be the beginning of an aesthetic upheaval that would reach far beyond Germany's borders.
In a pamphlet he wrote for an April 1919 exhibition entitled "Exhibition of Unknown Architects," Gropius described his goal as being "to create a new guild of craftsmen, without the class distinctions which raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist."
He argued that a new era had begun with the end of the war, and he wanted a new architectural style to reflect this. Crucially, he advocated architecture and consumer goods that were functional, inexpensive and consistent with the industrialization and mass production that was changing the face of Europe.
The school existed in three German cities: Weimar (1919 -1925), Dessau (1925 - 1932) and Berlin (1932 - 1933). In 1933, it was closed by the Nazi regime. During its years of operation, the school attracted avant garde artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Lyonel Feininger. Along with Gropius, Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe acted as architect-directors.
Bauhaus spirit lives on
But although the original Bauhaus school had a relatively short lifespan, the Bauhaus principles and aesthetic have lived on and served as the inspiration for more schools of design, particularly in the United States, where many of those associated with the Bauhaus movement settled in the 1930s.
Today, the Bauhaus school is called the Bauhaus University of Weimar. Although Weimar is commonly seen as the cradle of great German literary figures such as Goethe and Schiller, the popularity of Bauhaus has also contributed to the city becoming a popular tourist destination in recent years.
Many designers are taking the 90th anniversary as an occasion to bring remakes of Bauhaus classics to the market...